KINOBODY Fitness Systems

My Workout Approach for the Ultimate Lean and Powerful Physique

I have been rigorously working out and watching what I eat from the early age of fourteen and reading everything I could on fitness, health and nutrition. I don’t have any university degrees in nutrition or exercise science but I do have a burning desire to constantly improve my physique in both performance and aesthetics. As a result, I am always seeking out new information to take my body to the next level. But more importantly, I am hacking away at the unessentials, the hype that doesn’t produce results that everyone seems to get caught up in. This is the philosophy of Bruce Lee, to take that which works and discard the rest.

I am starting a whole new series of articles. I am going to discuss strength training, core training, nutrition, supplements and fat burning. I will be covering everything you need to know to build the ultimate lean and powerful physique as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Alright. Lets get started. This is the very first article of the series and I am going to cover strength training. If there is one type of exercise you can do then strength training is it.

Strength Training

Whether you want to look like Cam Gigandet, Brad Pitt or Chris Hemsworth you are going to need to strength train. This is by far the most important type of exercise you can do and strength training will have the most profound effect on your physique. If you want to build muscle then strength training will make it possible. If you want to lose weight then strength training will ensure you maintain muscle while doing so.

1. Focus On Getting Gtronger in the Kinobody Core Lifts

Incline Bench Press, Chin ups, Shoulder Press, Bar Dips and Heavy Curls. These are the movements you want to get stronger in. Getting stronger in these lifts will transform your physique and these lifts will carry over to every other upper body lift. However chest flyes and triceps kick backs will do nothing for your incline press or any other lift for that matter.

2. What About Squats and Deadlifts?

Squats and dead lifts are great exercises if done properly. However, for most people squatting and deadlifting in the long run will build up your legs and butt too much. This is what happened to me and I got to the point where my legs would rub together when I walked. In addition ,if you’ve ever had any back problems (I have) then squatting and deadlifting can be a nightmare. I now focus on short sprints and hill sprints to build lean and powerful legs. I feel explosive, agile and limber and more importantly, free of back pain

3. Strength Train 3x per week

I have found that 3 strength training sessions per week is perfect. Any more then that and you’re doing more harm then good. Your muscles need time to rebuild and recover and your central nervous system needs rest too. Lifting heavy 5x per week or more and you will drain your nervous system and strength levels will drop. If you are on a diet and trying to lose bodyfat then no more then 3 strength training sessions per week. Seriously when you are on a diet your recovery rates slow down.

4. Low Reps, Long Rest Periods 80% of the Time

Lift heavy in the 3-8 rep range and take 2-3 minutes rest in between sets. Heavy, low rep training is the way to build hard, dense muscle. If you want to trigger more muscle growth then increase the number of sets to 4-6 sets per exercise. High rep training can be useful if used properly. Use high rep, pump up style training for short 2-4 week blocks a few times per year to build quick muscle size via increased muscle glycogen. After 2-4 weeks of high rep training muscle growth will be limited. Your body is not good at doing two things at once. Your body can either increase glycogen stores or grow new muscle tissues. Focus on increasing muscle tissue by lifting heavy in the 3-8 rep range 80% of the time and focus on increasing muscle glycogen by using high volume workouts 20% of the time. Before you can benefit from high rep training again you need to increase strength.

5. Failure is Not an Option

Lift as heavy as possible but never let yourself fail. Training to failure is teaching your body to fail. Failure is unacceptable. Don’t go for another rep if you’re not going to get it. Doing so will over tax your nervous system and lead to stalled strength and muscle gains. I push my sets hard but never go to failure or do forced reps with a spotter. I believe this is one of the reasons why I have developed great strength. Most people I know who reach a plateau on the bench press do so because they take all their sets to failure.

My Workout Routine

Below is the workout program I have been following for a few months now and I absolutely love it. My strength has gone through the roof and my physique has improved drastically. The workout program is pretty basic and looks like nothing you will see in a fitness magazine but it works.

Workout A

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 x 4-6 reps

Close Grip Barbell Bench Press: 2 x 4-6 reps

Weighed Chin ups: 3 x 3-5 reps

Bent Over Flyes: 2 x 6-10 reps

Standing Barbell Curls: 2 x 4-6 reps

Workout B

Seated DB Shoulder Press: 3 x 4-6 reps

Weighted Bar Dips: 2 x 6-8 reps

Weighted Chin ups: 3 x 4-6 reps

Lateral Raises: 3 x 6-10 reps

Standing Dumbbell Curls: 2 x 4-6 reps

Workout Notes:

Perform three workouts per week on non consecutive days alternating between workout A and B

Greg, You asked me if I had any questions. I said, I am interested in the shredding sheets. If I purchase them, am I financially obligated to purchase anything else. Of course I probably would – your stuff and advice is helping me. BUT I HAVN’T HEARD FROM YOU???? QUE PASE???

If you want to hit legs then I would suggest adding a third workout. A leg workout. Hit squats, dead lifts, lunges, leg curls and calves. Lift 3x per week and hit each workout once per week. Adding squats and dead lifts at the end of each workout would be way too strenuous.

If i do 3 strength training workouts a week of 3-5reps would it be ok to add in some high rep body weight circuits at the end of the strength session to improve at functional body weight movements ? and also would you get the same strength gains or would the body weight circuit effect the strength you can gain ?

A lot of questions i now ! Really appreciate all your advice and tips thanks !!

High rep bodyweight movements will provide little benefit from a performance and physique stand point. I train for strength and I can pump out 100 push ups, 20+ pull ups, 40+ dips…. If you stay/get lean and get strong as hell you will be a machine.

High rep training after heavy lifting will slow down progress. I wouldn’t include it. If you want to get better with your body then consider practicing bodyweight movements like muscle ups and over movements. Stay away from failure. Do this no more then once or twice per week.

I love bodyweight movements but I understand to benefit from them you need to make them more challenging. Adding a weighted vest or a dip belt is a fantastic way to make bodyweight exercises more challenging and beneficial.

I was wondering what kind of lifting tempo you use when you workout. When I try to workout with more weight, I can do it, but i don’t feel it nearly as much in my muscles as when I workout lighter and slower. Any recommendations?

I plan on doing this routine however I would like to add some muscle/size to my arms. What would you recommend for doing so. Just stick to the workout guidelines you have on this one or do add/drop some thing. Thank you.

Greg.. Do you agree with phase 1 of visual? I’ve been working out a while now but not full force. So I found that workout but I’m not sure if I need to do phase 1 or not based off what I’ve read from you. In 71 inches tall with 31 waste. About 170lbs.. But I feel like I still need to add a lot of size. My thing is I’ve Been doing sets around 10 reps for a while and I’ve felt like I haven’t gotten much stronger lately. So even though my muscles aren’t huge, should I do strength training and then jump to phase 1?

Yesterday.. First day of phase 1.. I did the pyramid on bench.. 135×12, 145×10, 155×8, 165×6, then 125×12 to finish. Then onto the rest.. Should I focus more on the low reps for now?

Hey Greg,
thanks for all the great tips and help- I just finished a couple weeks of starting strength for initial gain (6’2″ 145 lbs- yeesh!) but now I’m ready to just “selectively build” 3 questions
-Can I add deadlifts just one set one day a week (they make me happy!)
-How do you feel about swimming affecting strength gains
-why only three days a week vs your look like an action star workout which is 5?
-Sorry one more: when I don’t eat every 3-4 hours or skip breakfast, I start to feel like craaaapppp- it seriously effects my perfomance in classes and at school- recommendations?
THANKS ALOT AND YOUR THE BEST!!!( got my pt license cus of folks like you!)
-Michael
p.s- if you need a laugh (and some tips for where to build my physique up :) check out my response to that new song What does the fox say?. Just look up “WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY” Michael Stancliff.

1. Yes, you can definitely incorporate deads.
2. Swimming is fine. Just don’t overdo it.
3. Three days per week, for natural lifters is way better! You’ll make way better strength gains with more rest days. This has been the case for me and all the people I have worked with.
4. Probably because you’re used to running on carbs for energy. It might take up to two weeks to adapt then you should feel clarity and focus. If you prefer to eat frequently, then hit your protein and calorie numbers and you’ll be set.

Hey Greg, so would this be useful than the warrior shredding workout? Also, whats the difference between your workouts and Rusty Moore’s six day frequency training workout? Which do you think is better? Im deployed right now and just want to get the best results possible. Great stuff, keep it up.

Hey Greg sorry for asking this again but I forgot where I typed it, but I cannot progress on flat bench to save my life and it is pretty damn low, 160 pounds and I weigh just over 150 (and it has been there since like July) can I just replace flat bench with weighted dips and get the same benefits?